Summer Retreat ’16: If You Really Knew Me

“With each moving moment, lives a fresh, pulsing opportunity, to breathe the new life into who you want to be.”

There’s something special about leaving your life behind for a week and stepping into the unknown. Yesterday, here at the Girlvana Summer Retreat, we could feel the charge in the air; the electric spark that happens between people when walls are dropped, and the voice we have worked so hard to quiet finally becomes louder. This is what we experienced on Day 2.

We begin our days with slow moving mornings filled with fresh coffee and tea. Some early risers went for a run and an ocean dip, while many cherished the extra time to sleep in. After breakfast we made our way to our mats, sitting in a circle in order to create a safe space to share; our stories, releasing who we no longer want to be, showing others who we are offered a terrifying but liberating experience.

AS WE ALL ANSWERED THE QUESTION “IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME, YOU WOULD KNOW…” WE SURRENDERED OUR FEARS OF BEING SEEN - TRULY BEING SEEN.

The shared experience of wanting to be loved, appreciated, heard, needed and accepted was echoed in all of our stories. This is the magic of the retreat: where 21 girls and women connect on a deep level, truly showing who they are. In that circle, we see ourselves in one another.

As a way to move through the emotions and feelings that were bubbling up, journaling and yoga followed. A light practice with Justin Bieber making a surprise appearance (via song obviously) allowed us to laugh and bring back the playful energy. We spent the afternoon swimming in the ocean, pulling Goddess cards on the white shell beach, and getting to know one another on a new level.

After dinner, we walked down to the ocean to throw the ashes of the stories we no longer wanted to hold onto in the water. The biggest rainbow painted the sky and for a moment we all had to pinch ourselves to ask if this was real life. Spoiler alert: it is. This is how we do Girlvana Summer Retreat 2016.